Round Of Applause For A Helping Hand
Kathy Johnson of Spokane did not have a very good Bloomsday. “I fell at the beginning of the race. It happened in the yellow section after the race started. In the rush of the crowd, I somehow lost my balance and fell on my shoulder. I was taken to Deaconess where it was determined I fractured the humerus at the shoulder.”
Johnson had surgery the following week, but she didn’t write us to whine about her misfortune. She wrote to see if we could help her locate the good Samaritan who helped her. “After I fell, a man stopped and helped me get off the course. I cannot describe him because I was in shock from the injury. I normally start Bloomsday in the seeded runners’ section, but last year I was sixth in my age group so wasn’t seeded. Because I place, I understand so well what the man gave up to help me. It must have slowed down his race time. There were lots of people who went over and around me before he stopped and it was quite frightening to be down and unable to get help.”
Kathy would like to thank the man but she doesn’t know how to find him. So if you are the man himself or the man’s spouse or friend, write us here at Common Ground and we’ll get Kathy in touch with you. It’s a nice story, a nice gesture and you deserve a big thanks.
Thank you! Speaking of good works in our community, a Common Ground salute to Soroptimist International of Spokane, a service club that recently presented a check for $2,000 to Cancer Patient Care. The money will be used to help lowincome women pay for the tests that detect breast cancer. “Our targeted area is women over 40 who need a follow-up ultrasound after having a mammogram. How devastating for a woman not to have the means to get the extended testing she needs to enable her to know whether she has breast cancer,” said club member Judith Hawkins.
She said: “I did not believe a baby would come out of me. But there it was, coming out, a long black curling lock of hair followed by nearly 10 pounds of human being. Reader, I stared.” Writer Alice Walker.
Wavy memories: We received some great responses to our requests for stories about what it’s like to ride on a Lilac Parade float. Jane Evans (maiden name: Thompson) of Spokane wrote: “I was chosen to be a princess in May 1943 to represent Lewis and Clark. We were all dressed in our formals and rode in the back of a convertible. It seemed we went out to Whitworth in the morning for the start of the parade and rode all the way downtown.”
Tracey Schirman wrote: I was Lilac princess for Shadle Park in 1993. The aspect of the parades that most kept my wave alive was the spectators. When the small children waved with their small-fingered wave, I waved back with a finger wave. When people waved excitedly, I waved back excitedly. I realized I was not simply riding a float, I was interacting with the spectators.”
MEMO: Common Ground is written on alternating weeks by Rebecca Nappi and Dan Webster. Write to them in care of The Spokesman-Review, Features Department, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210-1615. Or fax, (509) 459-5098.